=New equipment Ultrasonic inspection system

With nine axes of motion, the general purpose ultrasonic scanning system, GUSS 9, from Rolls-Royce MatEval provides compound scanning of complex composite structures accommodating many geometries in a single automated system.

The digitally controlled turnkey inspection system is designed to inspect contoured, adhesively bonded composite components for delaminations, disbonds, voids and inclusions.

Modular in construction, it consists of the Micropulse 2 inspection control system, a multi-axis bridge-mounted manipulator, and a turntable mounted on a substantial machine base. Features include multiple transducers which record up to 16 peak indications in pulse echo mode and digitized A-scans and RF waveforms in all testing modes, together with colour B, C or D scans. It also has facilities for signal averaging and bonding in through transmission mode, full colour real-time displays with scaling and zoom, histograms, cross-sections and defect sizing.

The system can also be taught using the computer-aided teach and learn package and has full archiving of results for off-line analysis.

Rolls-Royce MatEval Limited, 245/246 Europa Boulevard, Gemini Business Park, West Brook, Warrington WA5 5TN, UK

Absolute ultrasound measurement Optical specialists at AEA Technology have developed what is claimed to be the only commercially available system capable of absolute measurement of ultrasound. I + Plus uses a laser interferometer system to determine accurately the strength

Nine-axis general purpose ultrasonic scanning system from Rolls-Royce MatEval

of the beams produced by ultrasonic transducers.

Ultrasonic fields can be measured accurately over the full frequency range from a few kilohertz to more than a hundred megahertz. Very fast signals can be recorded without distortion. With a spatial resolution down to 10/~m the system outperforms other ultrasonic detectors.

Because the system uses a light beam as a sensor, it makes completely non-contact measurements. It can also be used for remote sensing of materials in a hazardous environment via an optical window. With laser generation of ultrasound it can be used as a non-contact ultrasonic non-destructive testing system.

The interferometer uses an electro-optic cell in a phase-locked system to eliminate the effects of vibration from the surrounding environment. This gives it a level of sensitivity impossible using normal optical sensors even in a controlled laboratory. These features make I+ Plus suitable as a primary ultrasonic calibration standard, and the system has been adopted

by the National Physical Laboratories in the UK, Australia and India. Research laboratories and universities are also using it to develop novel ultrasonic non-destructive testing techniques.

AEA Industrial Technology, Culham Laboratory, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, 0X14 3DB, UK

Hand-held thickness meter

Incorporating auto-recognition and automatic zero for transducers, the T-Gage III ultrasonic thickness meter has been launched by Sonatest.

The Microprocessor controlled unit is cased in rigid aluminium alloy with sealed membrane front panel for environmental protection and easy operation. Features not normally found in low cost hand-held meters are:

• Scan mode, allowing areas to be scanned for thinning, corrosion or pitting. LEDs mounted in the transducer indicate coupling (green) and thicknesses below the pre-set

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=New equipment n

limit (red). • Coating rejection automatically

reads between two repeat echoes and eliminates the thickness of paint or other coating on the test object, without the need to remove the coating.

• Difference mode acts as a thickness gauge measuring increase or decrease in thickness from a known set value, which acts as the zero.

• Tmin mode allows the minimum reading in a scan or set of readings to be held, and is useful for elbows or bends in pipes to find the minimum thickness.

Measurement range is from 0.6 mm to 399.9 mm, with a resolution of 0.01 mm up to 99,99 mm, then 0.1 mm thereafter.

Sonatest plc, Dickens Road, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5QQ, UK

Stud crack detector

An automatic stud inspection system for the process, petrochemical and power generation industries has been developed by Exotech. Designed for the in situ testing of studs, it can locate fatigue or corrosion cracks in studs and measure their depth and growth rates. The inspection can be carried out while the plant is still in operation.

The heart of the system is an ultrasonic probe which passes through a central bore in the stud. The threaded area of the stud is automatically scanned by the probe, which is connected to a portable computer that processes the signal and displays the scan on thescreen. Cracks or other faults can easily be identified on the screen display. In many safety critical applications studs already have a central bore hole which is suitable for the sensor; alternatively, standard studs can easily be converted to accept the sensor.

Cracks as small as 0.5 mm can be

located and monitored. Records of the test scans are retained in the computer memory and can be downloaded onto floppy disc or hard copy, providing a permanent record of the condition of each stud in the plant.

Exotech Ltd, The Science Park, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7EZ, UK

Infrared scanning camera

The recently launched Thermovision 900 Series high resolution 12-bit infrared scanning cameras from AGEMA Infrared Systems have been further improved to offer a wider range of measurement functions.

The majority of improvements are in the system controller software used to drive the cameras. Based on the popular Windows operating system, Version 3.0 of ERIKA includes many more functions to improve the measurement capability of the system.

In particular, it offers several more 'object parameter sets' so that users can run up to 10 different combinations of measurement parameter values simultaneously on one system. Typically this means that different 'spot meters' on an image can be allocated different emissivities and/or distances, etc. Moreover, many objects can have the same object parameter set. All sets can be stored to file and recalled automatically when the system is restarted, saving time in configuring the system.

A facility which is particularly useful for users in the electronic industries is 'View', which allows operators to show up to 16 images simultaneously in one tR window. It can be used on either stored or live images and allows users to compare changes in object temperature over time.

The 'Toolbox' feature significantly improves the interface to the operator, allowing him to select different functions by simply clicking on the appropriate icon. The user can also customize some of these functions to speed up

Automatic ultrasonic stud inspection system from Exotech

50 NDT&E International Volume 25 Number 1 1992